Elevator control device



March 24, 1931.

F. L. OHLER ELEVATOR CONTROL DEVICE Filed June 13, 1929 Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK L. OHLER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE HAUGHTON ELEVATOR & MA- CHINE COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OE OHIO ELEVATOR CONTROL DEVICE Application filed .Tune 13,

This invention relates to a control device adapted to be used in connection with elevators to control the travel thereof, as for example, in connection with a floor selector In control devices of this nature, their specific operation depends upon the actuation of a control switch when the elevator reaches a predetermined point in its travel, and in order to insure actuation at the proper time, it has been customary to locate each switch to be thus actuated in the path of a control drum or tripping cam which travels on a screw in alinement with the horizontal axis of the cable winding drum, while the latter has no axial movement. l/Vith such an arrangement, it is necessary to use a vibrating sheave over which the cable passes. lVith such an arrangement it is not practical to I 2.0 mount the cable drum on a vertical axis. On

the other hand it is not desirable to mount the cable drum on a horizontal axis, particularly for long travel elevators, because it takes up a considerable amount of valuable 26 floor space.

Vith the above facts in mind, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a control device of the type described, in which the control drum or tripping cam 3. can travel vertically, preferably in the space directly above the cable winding drum, so that no additional floor space is required for such control device, no matter how far it travels. In the preferred form of the invention, the cable winding drum is also arranged on a vertical axis, so as to drive the control drum without the use of expensive bevel gears.

In such a construction, the cable passes from the winding drum over deflecting sheaves to the car, and since the winding drum is usually provided with a spiral groove for the cable,

it is necessary to make provision for vertical travel of the cable winding drum, as the cable is wound up or down on the drum, so as to insure the proper lead from the deflecting sheaves to the winding drum at all times. The specific construction of the invention,

in its present embodiment, and the objects and advantages of such construction will be more 1929. Serial No. 370,535.

particularly described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents the invention partly in section and partly in side elevation.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the selector drum and parts associated therewith.

In its present adaptation, the inventionis mounted in a frame 5 and is associated with a floor selector. A cable winding drum 6, having a vertical axis, is mounted within the frame 5 and in front of this drum two deflecting sheaves 7 are mounted in brackets 8 secured to the frame 5. These deflecting sheaves are disposed in planes substantially tangential to the opposite sides of the drum 6 and a cable or cables 9, secured to the car, pass over the respective deflecting sheaves and are connected to the drum. The drum 6 is provided with a spiral groove 10 in which the cable runs. v

When the winding drum 6 is mounted with its axis vertical, provision must be made for shifting the drum up or down to correspond to the winding of the cable up or down on the drum. so that the lead from the deflecting sheaves to the drum will be substantially the same at all times. For this purpose the winding drum is formed with a hollow core 11 through which extends a vertical fixed. shaft 12. A nut 13 is secured to one end of the core 11 and meshes with threads 14 formed on the lower part of the shaft 12. The pitch of the threads 14 is the same as the pitch of the groove 10 so that the axial travel of the drum 6 compensates for the winding of the cable up or down on the drum.

A sleeve 15 is secured to the upper end of the core 11 by a flange coupling 16 or other suitable means and a selector drum 17 is integrally or otherwise secured to the sleeve 15, the axis of the drum 17 being in alignment with the axis of the drum 6.

For supporting the parts which cooperate with the selector drum, a series of tie rods 18 are secured in the frame, and rings 19 corresponding to the respective floors during up and down travel of the elevator, are supported by brackets 20 secured by the spacing sleeves 21 on said tie rods. Each of the rings 19 has a switch 22 mounted for on a terminal incline 25 formed-on the drum 17 to open the switch. When the roller 24 is not in contact with the selector drum, the

In by the winding drum, a switch, and means for switch is closed by means of a spring 26. a complete elevator installation, it 18 to be understood that there will be a separate control switch 22 for each floor during upward I travel of the elevator and also a separate control switch for each floor during downward travel. Since no noveltyis claimed for the construction of the selector drum per se and the arrangement of the switches, no further description thereof is deemed necessary.

In the operation of the invention, as the elevator travels up or down, the winding drum 6 rotates and the cable 9 is wound up or down thereon. At the same time the drum 6 travels up or down with the nut 13 on the threaded portion of the shaft 12. The selector' drum 17 also rotates with the drum 6 and travels axially'at the same time. Each switch 22 is located in such a position that it will be actuated at a predetermined point in the travel of the selector drum, which point will be reached as the elevator approaches the floor with which the switch corresponds.

In arrangingthe selector drum so that it travels vertically in the space directly above the winding drum no additional floor space is necessary for its operation. By arranging the winding drum also on a vertical axls, 1t

' may be connected directly to the selector drum without the use of any gearing, and its travel up or down with the selector drum compensates for the winding of the cable in the groove 10.

While I have shown and described the invention in connection with a floor selector drum, its use is not limited thereto but it may be used in connection with any device operated in synchronism with the travel of the elevator." The construction of the various parts of the invention may also be considerably modified without departing materially from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a rotatable cable winding drum mounted with its axis substantially vertical and having a spiral groove therein, of a cable running in said groove, deflecting means overwhic'h the cable runs, a switch, means secured to said drum for actuating the switch, and means for moving said drum up or down at a rate corresponding to the pitch of said groove, whereby to maintain the same lead of the cable from said drum to the deflecting means. v I

2. The combination with a rotatable winding drum having a combined rotary and ax- I ialmovement, ofa rotatable selector drum driven by the winding drum and having a substantially vertical axis, a switch, and means for actuating said switch at a predetermined point in the movement of the selector drum.

3. The combination with a rotatable winding drum having a combined rotary and axial movement, of a rotatable selector drum driven actuating said switch at a predetermined point in the movement of the selector drum.

l. The combination with a rotatable winding drum having a combined rotary and axial movement, of a selector drum rigidly secured to the winding drum, a switch, and means for actuating said switch at a predetermined point in the movement of the selector drum. 5. The combination with a rotatable winding drum having a substantially vertical axis, of a flexible element running about said drum, deflecting means over which said flexible element runs, a selector drum also having a vertical axis and having a combined rotary and axial movement, said selector drum being driven by the winding drum, a switch, and means for actuating said switch at a predetermined point in the movement of the selector drum. 7

6. The combination with a rotatable windin g drum mounted with its axis substantially vertical and having a peripheral spiral groove, ofa flexible element running in said groove, deflecting means over'whi'ch said flexible element runs, said drum having a hollow core, a fixed screw extending through said core, a nut secured to said core and adapted to travel on said screw, a selector drum secured in fixed relation to said core and co axial therewith, aswitch, and means for actuating said switch at a predetermined point in the movement of the selector drum.

7. In an elevator installation, the combination of a selector drum having a substantially vertical axis about which it is rotatable, means for shifting said drum axially as it is rotated, a switch, and means associated with said drum and operable at a predetermined point in the movement thereof to actuate said switch.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

Y FRANK L. OHLER. 

